1. Cafe Mistique - 7250 NW 11 St, Miami. Tel: (305) 262 9500 - Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. - Thursday to Sunday. There is no cover charge on Thursday and Sunday but on Friday and Saturday there is a band, so there is a cover charge then,

3. Las Tavernas de Wancho - 2100 West 76th Street - Tel: (305) 822 7833 - Fridays and Saturdays. On Fridays it is 80% Salsa and 20% Merengue. On Saturday it is about 50/50. After 1:00 am though you tend to get a lot of Cumbia.
At this venue it is better to take a partner as there are many couples.

Just an update on my weekend. I went to Cafe Mistique on Saturday night. Nice place with a lot of dancers willing to dance with a new face in the place. Since i am from Philly and dance mostly On1 slot style, (I also dance Eddie Torres On2 since I spent some time living in an apartment in Mahattan a year ago), I felt a bit out of sync dancing the style the folks were dancing at Mistique. The style was circular (I saw a lot of Rueda Casino basics) with the couples dancing very close to each other. The style also included a lot of back breaking, like a cumbia basic. I saw no arm styling at all which would have been nearly impossible due to the closeness of the movements. I missed my styling!

I also saw no free or assisted shines.

It was a good experience for me to see and dance a style to which I am not accustomed. The gentlemen who led me were very kind and patient with my struggling to adjust to the difference in style. I felt very welcome there.

I wonder if there are places in Miami area where ON2 or On1 slot style is danced. In case I go there again, I would like to check out one of those places as well.

I had a really good time there. But being from Philly, I am used to going out early, around 10 p.m. and going home at 2 or before. The scene in Miami gets started around midnight and goes, I heard, until about 5 a.m.! Even though I got to the club just before midnight, my body clock told me it was time to go home by 2 a.m.

In Philly, we rarely get live bands at our weekly ongoing venues, so it was also a nice change for me to see and hear a band.

I probably would have fought my body clock and stayed later, but I was with two girl friends who insisted on going salsa dancing but would not leave their chairs the entire evening. I, of course, felt bad that they seemed not to be having a good time there, even though they insisted they were enjoying themselves. I could not even get them to get up and shake a booty during Raegeton.

For safety reasons, I don't like to venture out to clubs alone in a new city, but next time, if it is a choice between going alone or going with non-dancing friends, I will go alone.

Thanks again to those folks who shared with me places to go in Miami. You are gems!